45 staff made redundant at Yarrows

Up to 45 workers at Yarrows Bakery’s Manaia plant have lost their jobs this afternoon.

EPMU lead organiser Wayne Ruscoe said all workers at the South Taranaki plant were technically made redundant this afternoon.

One hundred staff were then offered new jobs by the receivers BDO but around were not.

The redundancies are reported to be across the board and include management positions.

Mr Ruscoe said he hoped the decision to strip the business back to basics would make the company a more saleable asset.

The Manaia bakery went into receivership 10 days ago after several years of financial woes.

In February the company announced 40 redundancies were necessary to keep the business competitive but at the time chief executive Colin Pettigrew said Yarrows was a good, solid Taranaki business with a sound future and the group was looking to position itself for that future.

A similar review had taken place in November 2009 during which 28 workers got the axe with a similar number taking voluntary redundancy just a few months later.

Yarrows Bakery was founded in Manaia in 1923 by Alfred and Grace Yarrow. It is one of New Zealands last remaining independently-owned bakeries.

This is a sad day for Taranaki and especially those who have lost their jobs. Fingers crossed that the plant will remain in operation and the consumers will rally around and support one of Taranaki’s iconic businesses.